


Sakura No Ki Ni Narou

by cyanically



Category: AKB48
Genre: F/F, Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-04
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-01-14 14:04:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1269121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyanically/pseuds/cyanically
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>-Short stories set in the 'Sakura No Ki Ni Narou' PV-verse-</p><p>It's been 5 years since... they graduated from high school. Since Jurina.</p><p>They would never vocalise it to each other, but each of them mentally refers to the lapse of years post-graduation as 'since Jurina died'. </p><p>PV: http://alive.in.th/watch_video.php?v=9WKWM71BMG4G</p><p>~Eien no sakura no ki ni narou<br/>Sou boku wa koko kara ugokanai yo<br/>Moshi kimi ga kokoro no michi ni mayotte mo<br/>Ai no basho ga wakaru you ni tatte iru~</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Breakfast Club

“Yabai! I’m so late!”  The harried girl hopped to the door as she pulled on her leggings, tripping twice in the process due to her short legs. “Ittekimasu!”

“Aren’t you going to have breakfast?” Kojima Haruna poked her head out of the kitchen, a frying pan in hand.

Takamina surveyed the ominous dark smoke wafting from the unidentified fried object and supressed a grimace. “It’s okay. I’ll eat at the cafeteria. I’m late for class.” She waved goodbye to her roommate and was out the door in a flash.

It was just past daybreak, but the apartment was so far away from their university that you’d need to budget at least two hours to get there in good time. Haruna sighed and made a mental note to visit the realtor’s office again today to find someplace nearer school.

“More breakfast for us then.” Haruna shrugged and dished out the food. “Mii~! Wake up!”

A disheveled Minegishi lumbered into the kitchen like a zombie and sat herself at the dining table as Haruna placed the meal in front of her. Miichan grunted her thanks for the food and began shovelling in her breakfast.

Sipping on her coffee, Haruna graced her other roommate with a satisfied smile. She knew she was no great cook, but Miichan always ate it with relish anyway. “What’s your plan for today?” she asked.

“Marghf mm dem mmrk,” Miichan mumbled.

“What time does your shift end?”

“Shrvfn.”

Haruna pushed Takamina’s share of the omelette into the other girl’s bowl, which was promptly inhaled. “Come back for dinner. I’m making nabe.”

“Mmm.”

They sat in companionable silence, the only sounds were of Miichan wolfing down breakfast.

————-

In contrast with the peaceful tableau at the trio’s house, breakfast was a raucous affair in another small household, somewhere in the respectable suburbs of Tokyo.

“I’m not hungry!”

“Sakuragi, you come and sit your butt down afore I glue it down.”

“I’d shimmy outta my pants then.”

“Then I’mma glue your nekkid smartass onto the chair.”

The little girl stuck her tongue out and made a face. “Child abuse.”

Yuko grinned and grabbed her daughter in a wrestling hold, lifting her over her shoulder. Sakuragi squealed with laughter, squirming in the iron grip her mother had on her.

“Shh! You’ll wake your father,” Yuko shushed the girl as she put her down in front of her half-eaten breakfast.

“C’n we go to the playground later?”

She ran fingers through the child’s long fine hair and gently smoothened out the messy kinks. “Only if you finish breakfast in a single sitting.”

“Yaay!”

“Oh for crying out loud, Yuko. I just got back from an all-nighter. You could at least let me sleep in,” her husband complained in a hoarse voice, peering out of the bedroom door into the dining area. He had come home at four a.m. reeking of stale beer and cheap perfume.

“You need to get up for work anyway,” Yuko informed him matter-of-factly, placing his breakfast at the table.

“Otou-san, ohayo gozaimasu,” Sakuragi mumbled, suddenly subdued with the appearance of her father.

“I’m supposed to have a breakfast meeting. I’ll just go since I’m up already anyway,” he grumbled, going into the bathroom to wash up.

“More breakfast for us then,” chirped Sakuragi with a bright voice, trying to cheer the downcast atmosphere. She pulled the plate meant for her father towards her and started eating from both plates, earning a hair ruffling from Yuko.

“Remember, everything in one sitting,” her mother reminded her, with a wry grin.

“Just watch me.” Sakuragi narrowed her eyes at the formidable quantity of food and began to demolish her breakfast methodically.

————-

The train ride was hellish, as always. The only bright spot was that the girl she was squashed up against had a cute outfit and smelled really nice.

It wasn’t as though she subscribed to the practice nor did she endorse it, but not for the first time, she pondered over the psychology of the common train molestor and came to understand the meaning of ‘cheap thrills’ in a deeper way.

 _I am so gay it’s not even funny_ , she facepalmed mentally.

The train doors opened and a sea of office-attire clad drones were belched out onto the platform. She adjusted her suit as she shuffled out- indistinguisable from the swarm around her.

It was still early and her office was just four blocks away from the station, so she made a brief detour to the convenience shop to pick up her second breakfast.

Tapping on the security access with her passcard, she was startled when a beefy hand reached out from behind, over her shoulder to push the door open.

“Maeda-kun. Ohayou.”

“Ohayo gozaimasu,” Atsuko greeted her supervisor with a bow, moving to her cubicle quickly, pretending she didn’t notice the lecherous old man staring at her ass appreciatively.

Pulling her mobile out, she quickly typed out a message and tossed her phone aside. Booting up her computer, she got an early start on her emails while munching on her store-bought onigiri.

Glancing at the clock, she sighed as she counted the hours until lunch.

Same mundane shit, different mundane day.

—————

Itano Tomomi was currently face down on the couch, snoring loudly.

Working two jobs was hell, but the tips she got bartending at her night job was worth it. She would come home with the first train, and collapse onto the nearest flat surface. Most times it would be the couch, but there were times she’d just end up on the floor by the door, shoes still on her feet.

Her phone buzzed, startling her into an upright position as she felt around for it on the couch, both eyes still closed.

Squinting at the screen with one eye, she snorted as she read the contents of the mail:-

_From: Acchan_  
 _Sub: Good morning_

_You looked so sexy on the couch, lying in a pool of your drool this morning I was loathe to wake you. Eat your breakfast and then go to bed. I’ll wake you in time for work later._  
 _PS- if you stain the couch again, I will end you._

Tomochin snapped her mobile phone close and yawned widely, picking up the ‘breakfast’ Acchan left her on the coffee table.  She unwrapped the mini muffin and crammed into her mouth, washing it down with a few chugs of milk. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she shuffled into her room for a few more hours of sleep.


	2. Fight Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls, fighting and in pain, seen through the eyes of a ghost. (Also, Miichan swears a lot and beats someone up.)

It was still early at the bar, so the few patrons who came in to do their serious drinking were a welcome source of business.

She smiled at the customer who was on his sixth round. He obviously liked her, what with the large tips he was pushing over to her every time she brought him his drink. Also, he was drunk and Tomochin was not above milking drunks for all they’re worth.

A quick mental calculation of her bank account balance eased the mild anxiety that had been chewing on her all day long. She knew the uneasiness had nothing to do with her financial status, though. Staring out the window without really registering anything, she heaved a melancholic sigh.

A ghostly hand reached out tentatively behind her, uncertain whether or not to make contact.

“Itano, isn’t your shift over? Don’t you wanna get back early for once?” Tomomi's supervisor asked, suddenly snapping her out of her internal musing. “Or are you staying back for some overtime again?

“Mm? Yeah, I thought maybe.”

“Okay, pick up the pace then. The glasses will dry out by themselves at the rate you’re going.”

“Hai.”

Jurina regarded Tomochin solemnly, glancing at the clock with some dismay.

————

Sakuragi wasn’t stupid. She was almost 5 now, so she knew almost half of what her parents were doing in the bedroom. It was so obvious that they were wrestling.

She was sure otou-san was cheating sometimes, ‘cos Mama would end up hurt. But her mother was quick to point out that pro-wrestlers got hurt all the time and that it was not alright for little girls to fight .

Yanking her cape and mask off, she surveyed the small pile of stuffed toys she had successfully rescued from the forces of evil with some satisfaction. There was a clatter of something falling over in her parents bedroom, Otou-san’s voice rising angrily until her mother’s voice, low and indistinct, shushed him.

She hoped Mama was winning this time. Staring forlornly at her cape and mask, she wished she could go save the one person who probably needed it more than her stuffed toys.

Jurina lay on the floor next to the stuffed animals, gazing sadly at the little girl.

————

“You sonofabitch, I’m gonna tear your cock off!”

The man went down like a sack of potatoes when a stray kick hit its intended target with considerable force. Miichan rained a volley of fisted punches over every part she could reach, occasionally punctuating her strikes with kicking when her knuckles were too sore.

“Miichan! Minami! Stop it!!” Haruna shouted over the profanity. She grabbed her best friend from behind and held on for dear life as the furious girl struggled in her grasp. The intro for Southern All Star’s Tsunami came on just then, and Miichan went slack in Haruna’s arms.

“It’s okay. Takamina’s okay,” Haruna sobbed into Miichan’s hair. “Let’s bring her home.”

Hearing Haruna cry and surveying the damage she’d wreaked to the karaoke room, Miichan deflated further. But her fury returned when her gaze fell on the unconscious Takamina, crumpled on the couch. With a last kick at the bleeding would-be date rapist, Miichan spat at him and turned to gather up Takamina’s stuff.

If they hadn’t just decided check in on some strange missed calls from Takamina who was supposed to be on a karaoke date with a classmate, Miichan shuddered to imagine what would’ve happened to her best friend. She hefted the drugged Takamina onto her back with some help from Haruna and they made their way out of the karaoke bar.

Clutching onto Takamina’s mobile, Jurina wondered how she managed to physically grasp the object and more importantly, if she could land a few hard kicks onto the bastard who was still groaning on the floor.

————

Acchan stared at the clock. Tomomi was late. Again.

The beef stew she made (read: poured out onto the plate) was congealing slightly in an unappetizing way. She reminded herself not to buy food from that restaurant next time.

Maybe a text message, she decided with a nod. Quickly typing out a query as to whether Tomochin was running late, she decided to cover the food and wait for her in the living room instead.

She actually dozed off on the couch, the buzzing of her phone woke her.

_< Sorry, I didn’t see your message earlier. Go ahead with dinner.>_

She glanced at the time- 10:40. Angrily, she typed out her reply.  _< You said your shift ended early today. You promised we’d have dinner together for once.>_

_< I can’t>_

_< Is it really so busy at the bar tonight?>_

A span of five minutes passed, Atsuko punched the pillow next to her in a small fit of temper. Snatching the phone up when it buzzed with whatever usual excuse Tomochin often came up with, the words that flashed on the screen was the last thing she expected, even though she secretly knew this day would come.

_< I can’t do this anymore, Acchan. This thing with us isn’t working.>_

Her heart was pounding, and her nerveless fingers felt detached from her body that even if she knew how to respond, she probably wouldn’t have been able to type it out.

Tomochin didn’t wait for a response.  _< I’m sorry, Atsuko. I’ll find somewhere else to stay tonight, and I’ll move my stuff out.>_

_< Why>_

_< I know I’m not the one. I can’t make myself be the one for you anymore. You’re my best friend, but we make really lousy lovers.>_

_< Why?>_

She couldn’t. Jurina could not bear to see Acchan cry again. She sat outside the door of the house, arms and knees tucked in together tightly, wondering how ghosts could still hurt.


	3. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is broken- and mending is going to take a while.

Tomomi did not come home that night. But she came back to pack her things when Atsuko was out at work the next morning, leaving a long, heartfelt letter of apology behind.

Coming home to an empty house was a normal thing for Atsuko, but seeing the shoe cabinet void of Tomochin’s shoes really made it final for her.

It was almost midnight and Atsuko sat numbly on the couch, all the tears cried out of her system. It really wasn’t Tomochin’s fault. While Atsuko was a melancholic loner by nature, she could get pretty needy and she had hoisted all her insecurities onto the very independent Tomomi.

Frankly, Atsuko was surprised it lasted this long. She knew Tomomi had places to be, dreams to achieve- but her caring nature kept her by Atsuko’s side the entire time she was getting over Jurina’s passing.

They moved to Tokyo together after high school- intent on moving on with life in the big city. They got jobs. Bought an apartment. Fell in love, or perhaps, fell in attachment. But five years had passed and life had somehow stagnated for the two of them, neither achieving the level of happiness or success they craved.

If anything, Atsuko felt remorseful for having held Tomochin back but she was certain that if she said this, the blonde girl would’ve just laughed, patted her on the head and told her not to be silly. Fresh tears blurred her vision and she sobbed into the pillow she was hugging.

Her phone rang and her heart leapt- but a quick glance at the caller ID turned her hopefulness into bemusement.

“Yuuchan?”

“Atsuko.” The hoarse whisper calling her name made her sit up straighter. “Sorry to call so late.”

She heard the sound of passing vehicles in the background and Yuko coughing away from the mouthpiece of the phone. “Yuko, where are you? Are you okay?”

“Acchan, I- I need a place to stay for tonight.”

————

Haruna and Miichan shared concerned glances over the dining table, both stealing sidelong glimpses of Takamina who was eating her katsudon quietly.

Takamina never ate quietly. Especially not when it was katsudon. 

They made (bought) the pork katsu from Takamina’s favorite restaurant and served it over rice togther with her favorite dishes, all laid out in front of her like a banquet. The short girl had mumbled her thanks and picked at the food slowly, not wanting to waste her friends’ efforts.

Takamina never picked at her food slowly. Especially not when it was katsudon.

Not for the millionth time, Miichan inwardly cursed herself for not castrating the son of a bitch when she had the chance. They knew it would probably take a while before things got back to normal, but it was just heart-breaking to see the usually energetic Takamina so subdued.

Haruna had to stop Miichan from ‘hovering’, she called it, and practically forced the younger girl out of the house for classes and work. She understood Miichan’s concern, Takamina was the closest thing to family she had- her parents had died and she was kicked out of her relative’s house when she turned 16. If it weren’t for Takamina taking her in, she would never have gotten through high school or even into university now.

“Guys. Seriously, I’m fine now,” Takamina finally piped up, her voice croaky from disuse. “Stop staring at me like I’m gonna go nuts or something.”

“But you aren’t behaving fine!” Miichan exclaimed loudly, promptly earning her a smack over the head from Haruna.

“Stop pressuring her! It’ll take time to recover from the trauma.”

Takamina chewed thoughtfully for a while before answering, “I don’t even remember what happened, you know. The drugs just made me feel really sick the past couple of days. 

“Then why are you-“

“Mii!” Haruna shoved the unruly girl over from her chair and onto the floor.

“Fu-”

For the first time in two days, they heard Takamina laugh quietly. “Thanks, guys.” Craning over to look down at Miichan, she smiled warmly at her. “Thanks for saving me, Miichan.”

“I love you, Takamina!” Miichan sobbed, reaching out to clutch tightly at Takamina’s short legs. “I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you!”

“Man, how many beers have you had so far?” Takamina smiled wryly at the younger Minami's antics. Looking down at her dinner, she concentrated on eating even though she didn't have much of an appetite- it wouldn't do to worry her family anymore than they already were. Haruna was right, it would probably take a long time before she recovered, but it wasn't going to be that hard as long as her best friends were by her side.

 

 


	4. Choices and Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of domestic abuse

When he first started, she had naturally fought back but learned quickly that it just made the beatings last longer. But that day, he happened to catch Yuko at a bad time when she couldn’t even dredge up the façade of being the civil, subservient wife anymore. 

That little bit of tough hellraiser he didn’t manage to beat out of her surfaced and she pushed back hard that day. She had enough of trying to make it work with someone intent to tear things apart with physical violence and emotional blackmail.

And so, Oshima Yuko made the second biggest important decision of her life- to walk out of the household she chose to walk into all those years ago. Just like then, she walked through the doors carrying a sleeping Sakuragi and little else.

She stuffed some of her daughter’s belongings into a bag, and that was it. Anything else, she decided, was worthless now since she was already leaving with the most precious thing in the world to her.

It wasn’t the most well-thought out plan, she thought, two bus stops later. It was midnight already and her side was hurting from what she suspected were bruised ribs. Suppressing a rattling cough from her sore throat, Yuko cradled a slumbering Sakuragi to her and alighted at the next bus stop.

She had no place to go and most of her old friends lived too far away from town. Save one.

Standing by the sidewalk, Yuko pulled her phone out and stared at Atsuko’s name for a long time, her thoughts so unfocussed she didn’t even realise she had pressed the dial button.

Whatever magic she had been given to be able to interact physically with electronic devices in her disembodied state, Jurina wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth now.

\-------

“Pick one.” The younger Minami lifted three egg-shaped plastic devices which were luridly decorated with cute patterns. It had a brightly colored straps dangling from the bottom but Takamina did not know what they were for.

“What the heck are these? They look like sex toys.” Haruna piped up from where she was seated next to Takamina.

Miichan snorted. “You’d know, wouldn’t you? No, they’re personal alarms, see?”

Yanking the trigger strap off one of the oval devices like a grenade pin, a shockingly loud, shrill noise pierced through the quiet living room. Haruna and Takamina jumped out of their skins and pressed their hands over their ears futilely to shut out the screech.

“WHAT THE HELL!”

Miichan just stood there holding the alarm at arm’s length, laughing like a maniac, seemingly immune to the pain-inducing noise.

“SHUT IT OFF HOW DO YOU FOR GOD’S SAKES MII!” Takamina was fumbling with the device, trying to turn it off but somehow yanking the straps off the other two alarms and causing them to go off at hazardous decibel levels. “OH MOTHERFU-“

Still laughing, Miichan threw all three alarms to the far end of the living room, the combined noise getting too excruciating even for her at close quarters. Haruna ran from the room with a squeal of her own, her large, oft-teased about ears actually very sensitive to loud sounds. 

Abandoning the two Minamis to fix the chaotic situation- one of them screaming curses and desperately trying to destroy the offensive contraptions by stomping on them while the other was helplessly laughing at the chaos, pillows clamped tightly around her head.

Frantic knocking at the front door amplified the racket and Takamina gave up trying to destroy the objects. She dragged the giggling Miichan bodily towards the alarms and yelled at her to fix it while making her way to the door with a sense of foreboding. Takamina cringed as she opened the front door, facing their cantankerous landlady who glared at her before shifting her glance to the pandemonium within.

“Takahashi-chan, what in the world is all that noise?” 

“WHA-?” Takamina couldn’t actually hear what the landlady was saying due to the ringing in her ears, but she could guess because the old woman looked extremely put off.

“IT’S A RAPE ALARM!” Miichan shouted from the living room, as she looked around for the last device which was still screeching.

“PARDON?”

“RAPE- oh it’s off. How’d-“ Miichan exclaimed in surprise as she picked up the device which had gone silent by itself. “Must be broken.”

Jurina giggled a little and phased her incorporeal hand out of the alarm, causing it to burst into a loud shrill again, startling Miichan who threw it away- with an accuracy and speed professional pitchers would envy- right at the landlady’s head.

Takamina just groaned, holding her throbbing head and hoped that the sudden popping and buzzing warmth in her ears wasn’t her brain matter dribbling out.

\-------

It was past 2 a.m. by the time a weary Yuko arrived at Atsuko’s doorstep with Sakuragi in her arms. They settled the little girl into Atsuko’s bed and she fell right right to sleep after a mumbled goodnight to the two of them. 

“Thanks, Acchan.” Yuko gave a half-hearted smile, clearly bone-tired and ill at ease. The worn, despondent woman standing in front of Atsuko was a far cry from the charismatic ball of energy she remembered having a crush on in school so many years ago.

There was hardly any point in asking what had happened- it was evident on Yuko’s skin and in her demeanor. Atsuko drew the smaller woman into a quick embrace. Her heart tightened as she heard a muffled sob against her shoulder. "Everything is going to be okay now," she whispered, almost as much for her own benefit as Yuko's. 

Yuko hardly had the energy to object when Atsuko steered her across the hallway into the bathroom. “You’ll sleep a lot better after a bath,” Atsuko promised.

Carefully pulling Yuko’s jumper up over her head, Atsuko stifled a gasp as her eyes were drawn to the bruises along Yuko’s sides and back, a mottling of dark purplish bruises layered on top of faint yellowing ones.

“It looks worse than it really is,” Yuko remarked as she turned away, unable to face her friend. Startled, she flinched a little as cool fingers lightly traced the heated, bruised flesh, but she didn’t shrink away from the touch. She let her eyes close in surrender to the comforting languor of being soothed and embraced by someone who cared for her.

For a brief moment, everything was wonderful. The injuries would fade in time and her decision to leave would ensure a better life ahead for her daughter and herself. She only wished she had the strength to have done it much earlier.

Yuko opened her eyes, and Acchan’s crying face evoked a memory long lost and buried with teenage hormones and confused feelings. She smiled crookedly up at Atsuko, chuckling when she saw tears running down the taller woman’s face.

“Don’t cry, Acchan. It’s okay now, right?” 

“Idiot, I should be comforting you.” Atsuko sniffled, wiping the worst of the tears and snot away with the back of her hand.

“Gross.” Yuko eyed the offensive mucus-smeared appendage. “Come take a bath with me. It’ll be like old times.”

Atsuko yelped as Yuko started pawing at her none-too-gently to divest her of clothing. “N-no wait, Yuu-chan stop-“

Just like old times, Jurina thought as she covered her eyes at the sight of the naked duo.

\-------

“We’ve got 2 months to move elsewhere,” Takamina said unhappily, reading through the eviction letter sent by their landlady.

“It’s okay, I’ve been going to the realtor’s office to look for places closer to school anyway. Knead harder, Mii.”

A contrite Miichan doubled her efforts as ordered, expertly massaging Haruna’s feet as part of her penance for her shenanigans. It wasn’t really her fault that the landlady decided to evict them, though. They knew it was coming anyway since their lease term was almost up and there were better offers for the apartment, probably from quieter potential tenants, too.

“How about moving to Tokyo? I’m tired of travelling almost 2 hours a day just to get to school.”

“Troublemakers don’t get to decide important things,” Takamina snapped sternly at Miichan, who huffed and returned to her task.

“Well, we could all make a trip down to Tokyo and look at the places from the list the realtor gave me,” Haruna suggested. “Some of these places require interviews first.”

“Then we probably wouldn’t get much luck if we brought this one with us.” Takamina gestured at Miichan.

“Ay, I interview like a champ! I’m personable and people like me. It’s keeping the job after the interview that’s the problem.”

“Well, I hope they like you enough to give us good rates because renting near Tokyo is so expensive.”

Haruna smiled at her two Minamis with confidence. “I’m sure we’ll find something good- I can feel it.”

\--------


	5. Finding Home

The first thing she noticed upon waking was the freezing cold that even her thick down comforter couldn’t keep away. She groaned and snuggled deeper into the bed covers, shifting until cold skin connected with warm surfaces. 

She tucked her cold feet into a soft bundle of warmth, drifting off to sleep again. Hardly a minute later, the nest of bedding shifted to cling tightly to her legs and Atsuko jolted awake at the sensation.

“What the fu-” She kicked out in reflex, her foot catching against something soft but unyielding which rolled off her bed with a muffled grunt.

A peal of laughter woke her up completely and Atsuko sat up in her bed, peering over at the noise. Yuko was leaning against the doorframe, laughing at Sakuragi who’d gotten herself kicked out of bed by Atsuko.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry! Are you okay?” Atsuko apologized frantically to the little girl.

With her eyes still shut, Sakuragi merely dragged herself back up the edge of the bed and burrowed under the sheets again.

“Don’t worry, she’s hardier than she looks,” Yuko chuckled, coming over to nudge the lump in bed that was her daughter aside as she sat on the edge of the bed.

Huffing in relief, Atsuko leaned back against the headboard, regarding Yuko blearily. “You’re up early,” she said, voice still hoarse from sleep. They had all piled into Atsuko’s bed yesterday night, neither wanting to sleep alone.

“Habit. I made breakfast,” Yuko replied. “You have work today, right? I thought we’d leave with you later.”

“Yuko, we talked about this last night. You can stay here for as long as you want.”

“This is me being stubborn and letting my pride get in the way, Acchan,” Yuko admitted honestly. “Wonder where the hell my pride went these past few years.”

Atsuko reached over and squeezed her friend’s knee. “It’s not complicated, Yuko. This is an easy choice, if not for yourself, then at least for her,” she nodded at Sakuragi. “Wasn’t the whole point of leaving to give her a better life?”

The soft shrill of a boiling kettle whistling snapped them both out of their quiet contemplation. Yuko stood gingerly, conscious of her aching ribs and shuffled towards the kitchen. “Coffee in 10 minutes. Bring the kid,” she called over her shoulder.

\------

“So what’s wrong with it?” Miichan asked the realtor bluntly. 

“Mii!” Takamina hissed, smacking the younger woman’s arm.

Miichan peered around the house suspiciously. “No honestly, this entire house for this dirt cheap rent? I can’t even get a studio apartment in the suburbs for that price.”

“There’s a vegetable garden in the backyard!” Haruna’s pleased shout echoed down the hallway into where they were standing in the kitchen with the realtor.

“Hear that?” Miichan pointed out.

“We knew there was a yard, Mii.”

“No, I meant the echo. This place is big enough to echo, Takamina.”

The real estate agent cleared his throat. “There’s nothing wrong with the place. It’s a little old, but very well kept.”

“But?” Miichan stepped into his personal space, and squinted up at the man.

“Uh, well. It’s fine physically- just…”

“Aha! I knew it!” Miichan crowed triumphantly. Takamina shook her head and inspected the built in kitchen cabinets and island- she had long given up on negotiations the minute Miichan started grilling the agent.

“There may have been rumors that this place is, uh- slightly haunted,” he explained nervously.

“This place is haunted?” Haruna caught the last part of that sentence as she came in from the garden.

“Okay, ‘slightly haunted’ meaning rattling noises, furniture moving or possession? ‘Cause I’m thinking possession is worth another 20% off, at least,” Miichan pressed.

Takamina pulled out the cheque book and wordlessly handed it over to Haruna and slipped out check out the garden. Haruna joined Miichan who had cornered the man with rapid-fire questions about a paranormal discount. 

It was a nice day out, Takamina thought as she regarded the garden. A lone cherry blossom tree stood in the corner of the yard, the branches almost bare with leaves the color of autumn.

They’d plant cabbages in spring.

**Author's Note:**

> Non-canon bits: In the PV, it has been 8 years and Yuko's (unnamed) kid is 2. Taking some liberties here.


End file.
